''West Cajoot'' was a Design 1013 cargo ship built in 1919 by the Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She was one of many ships built by the company for the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was a corporation established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting ...

Design and construction

The ''West'' ships were cargo ships of similar size and design built by several shipyards on the West Coast of the United States for the

(USSB) for emergency use during World War I. Most were given names that began with the word West. The ship was laid down at Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co shipyard (yard number 13, USSB hull number 767), and launched on 3 November 1918. Due to her yard number being 13, she was launched as "12-A" to escape the sailors' hoodoo.The Los Angeles Herald, November 4, 1918, p. 15 She was named allegedly after a Native American woman, Cajoot, some relative of

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

.The Golden West, v.1, No.4, p.18 As built, the ship was long (

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

) and abeam, a

mean A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . ''West Cajoot'' was assessed at 5,899 GRT, and 8,350 DWT. The vessel had a steel hull, and a single 422 nhp

triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) Cylinder (engine), cylinder, then ha ...

, with cylinders of , , and 78 inches diameter with a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, that drove a single screw propeller, and moved the ship at up to .

Operational history

''West Cajoot'' was launched on November 3, 1918 and delivered to the

on May 1, 1919.Marine Review, v.50, p.112 Upon delivery, she became the first vessel allocated to Los Angeles Pacific Navigation Company.

Los Angeles Pacific Navigation Company (1919-1920)

On May 16, 1919 she left

loaded full for the Orient with a general cargo consisting among other things of steel rails, automobile supplies, roofing paper, and old newspapers. After touching off at

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

on May 26,The Maui News, May 30, 1919, p.8 she arrived in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

on July 1.,New York Tribune, July 08, 1919, p.18 then proceeded to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

arriving there on August 17,New York Tribune, August 22, 1919, p.16 and finally returned to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on September 11, 1919. Among other cargo she brought back, there were approximately 8,000 tonnes of graphite ore, representing by far the largest amount shipped to the Pacific US thus far.Morning Oregonian, September 13, 1919, p.22 ''West Cajoot'' departed on her next voyage on November 24, 1919 sailing from

with a variety of cargo including 1,275 bales of cotton bound for Japan.The Commercial and Financial Chronicle, v. 109, p.2185 She arrived in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

on December 25, 1919.Weekly Commercial News, v.60, No.1, p.11 On January 12, 1920 she arrived in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

,Weekly Commercial News, v.60, No.4, p.11 stopped in

on January 22,Weekly Commercial News, v.60, No.5, p.11 touched off at

on January 27New York Tribune, February 3, 1920, p.15 before heading back. ''West Cajoot'' left

on February 4Weekly Commercial News, v.60, No.7, p.11 and arrived in

on February 23, 1920.Weekly Commercial News, v.60, No.9, p.11

Cosmopolitan Steamship Company (1920-1921)

At about the same time ''West Cajoot'' was allocated to Cosmopolitan Steamship Company to operate on their routes. On May 10, 1920 ''West Cajoot'' was reallocated to Struthers & Dixon to operate on Pacific routesNauticus, v.4, No.51, p.31 following an affiliation of Cosmopolitan Steamship Company and Struthers & Dixon.Railway and Marine News, v. 18, No.4, p.38 This reassignment turned her journey into a round-the-world trip, as her destination was changed to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. After leaving

on February 24, she passed through

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

on March 16, 1920 with a load of rice bound for

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

,The Panama Canal Record, v.13, p.455 arriving there on March 20. From

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

she proceeded north and arrived in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on April 29.The Sun and The NY Herald, April 30, 1920, p.15 She left

on May 5 after loading 2,712 tonnes of bituminous coal, arrived in New York City on May 7,New York Tribune, May 08, 1920, p.17 and from there proceeded to St. Nazaire and reached it on June 23, 1920.New York Tribune, June 23, 1920, p.20 Continuing on her voyage, ''West Cajoot'' left France on June 29, and reached

on July 15.New York Tribune, July 16, 1920, p.18 At the end of July she sailed for

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

where she arrived on August 2 and was hired to transport coal for the US Naval base of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

. ''West Cajoot'' departed

on August 10, 1920, arriving in

zone on August 31. She stayed here for 11 days while undergoing repairs to her engines, eventually leaving for

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

on September 10.Weekly Commercial News, v.61, No.7, p.11Panama Canal Record, v.14, pp.48,53,61 She arrived in

in early October. On October 10, 1920 while being towed due to a broken propeller blade, ''West Cajoot'' collided with steamer ''Claudine''.The Maui News, October 15, 1920, p.1 Fortunately, the damage to either vessel was minimal. After undergoing repairs, ''West Cajoot'' departed

on October 24, and arrived in

on November 1.The New York Herald, October 31, 1920, 2nd News Section, p.9,The New York Herald, November 03, 1920, p.12 In December 1920 ''West Cajoot'' was chartered to transport among other things about 1,000 tonnes of various equipment for an oil exploration project in the Philippines. She left

on December 15, 1920 arrived in

on January 14, 1921, and unloaded all the equipment in the mouth of Pagsanghan River a few days after.The Oil Weekly, v.26, September 1922, p.69 From there she proceeded to

and

loading cargo, and departing on February 28 for a return trip.The New York Herald, March 04, 1921, p.18 She returned to

on March 29, 1921 bringing among other things almost 13,000 bales of camel wool (3,450 tonnes) from China.Morning Oregonian, March 30, 1921, p.18 The wool was shipped via railroads to New York and Boston. On April 22, 1921 ''West Cajoot'' was returned to the USSB due to the overabundance of cargo space and laid up.Morning Oregonian, April 22, 1921, p.20

Struthers & Barry (1923-August 1926)

In October 1923 ''West Cajoot'' was put for maintenance at Crawley Shipyards of Oakland in preparation of her return to active service. After the maintenance was finished, she was allocated to Struthers & Barry to serve on their Pacific route from

and

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

as part of their American Far East Line. On her first trip she sailed out from

on January 8, 1924, stopped at

on February 14,Vancouver Daily World, February 18, 1924, p.11

on March 10,Vancouver Daily World, March 11, 1924, p.11 and after completing her oriental trip, she discharged about 1,100 tonnes of cargo in

before dropping anchor in

on May 12, 1924. Among the cargo she brought back, there were 130,000 feet of Philippine mahogany,

copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

and furniture.Oakland Tribune, May 12, 1924, p.16 For her next trip she loaded up, among other things, with cases of oil and gasoline and departed from

in mid-September 1924. She arrived in

on October 5, 1924,The Daily Colonist, October 9, 1924, p.19 and proceed through Chinese ports to

where she arrived on November 8, 1924.Malaya Tribune, November 10, 1924, p.5 Leaving

on November 13, ''West Cajoot'' returned to

on January 5, 1925. She again left for the Orient in mid-January 1925, through

(February 17),

(February 26),

Haiphong Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of , consisting of 8 urban districts, 6 rural districts and 1 municipal city (sub-city). Two o ...

(March 6)Oakland Tribune, March 10, 1925, p.32 arriving in

on March 21, 1925.Oakland Tribune, March 25, 1925, p.29 She left from

on March 26, arriving in Zamboanga on April 1, and after visiting a handful of small ports in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

,Oakland Tribune, April 10, 1925, p.41 ''West Cajoot'' departed

on March 15, heading to

and from there to

. She dropped the anchor on May 16, bringing among other things, 449 tonnes of wild animal collection of noted hunter Frank Buck. The animals came from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and were loaded on board in

and included cobra collection destined for

Zoo, snakes, elephants, leopards, tigers etc. Most of the cargo was consigned to Al G. Barnes, a circus owner.Daily Colonist, May 23, 1925, p.14 On June 6, 1925 ''West Cajoot'' departed

for another trip to the Orient, arriving in

at the end of June. Leaving from

on June 30, she touched off at Yokaichi (July 1),

(July 2),Oakland Tribune, July 10, 1925, p.45

Dairen Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

(July 8),The Daily Colonist, July 10, 1925, p.17 Taku Bar,

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

(July 13)Oakland Tribune, July 19, 1925, p.38 arriving in

on July 17.Oakland Tribune, July 17, 1925, p.39 From there she headed to

on July 20Oakland Tribune, July 24, 1925, p.51 where she arrived on July 24.Oakland Tribune, July 31, 1925, p.39 From

she traveled to the

and arrived in

on July 30.Oakland Tribune, August 2, 1925, p.46 From

''West Cajoot'' proceeded to visit a variety of small Philippine ports, such as

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

, Zamboanga, Davao and so on, eventually returning to

at the end of August. She sailed out on September 1 for

,Oakland Tribune, September 3, 1925, p.24 and from there continued on to

. She returned to

on October 2, 1925, and from there proceeded to

where she arrived on October 8. She immediately sailed out for her next trip to the Orient, departing from

on October 23, arriving in

on November 19.Oakland Tribune, November 24, 1925, p.38 From there she proceeded to

, and then on to Korea, touching off at

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

on November 26, and

Chemulpo Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

4 days later.Oakland Tribune, December 3, 1925, p.34 ''West Cajoot'' continued on her trip touching off at several Chinese ports such as

and Qingdao before a stop in

on December 15.The Daily Colonist, December 18, 1925, p.19 From there she touched off in

and continued on to the

arriving in

on Christmas Day.Oakland Tribune, December 29, 1925, p.25 She then stopped off at various small ports around the

before departing for

where she arrived on February 13, 1926 bringing back coconut meal,

and by-products.Oakland Tribune, February 19, 1926, p.41 After unloading ''West Cajoot'' proceeded to

where she arrived on February 21, 1926. She was immediately put into dry-dock to undergo installation of deep tanks to allow transportation of vegetable and coconut oil from the

. The work was finished in mid-March and on March 19 ''West Cajoot'' sailed from

with a cargo of case oil and took course to the Orient.Oakland Tribune, March 18, 1926, p.33 After stopping off in

on March 20, and taking on more case oil, ''West Cajoot'' sailed next day to

. She arrived in China in mid-April, visiting ports like

and

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

before heading to the

. After stopping off at a variety of small ports ''West Cajoot'' departed from

on June 8, arriving in

on July 8, 1926. On June 17, 1926 it was reported that USSB decided to consolidate the American Far East Line and the Pacific Australian Line and put the consolidated line under Swayne & Holt management.Oakland Tribune, June 17, 1926, p.24 ''West Cajoot'' departed from

for her last journey under Struthers & Barry flag on August 10, 1926 to

. She arrived there on August 27 Oakland Tribune, September 4, 1926, p.16 and from there proceeded to Chinese ports, including

where she touched off on September 10, and from there proceeded to

. ''West Cajoot'' made a stopover in

on October 10, picking up among other things a few boxers on their way to a tournament in

.The Singapore Free Press & Mercantiole Advertiser, October 11, 1926, p.12 After touching off at several ports in

, ''West Cajoot'' returned to

on December 4, 1926 with a cargo of copra.Oakland Tribune, December 4, 1926, p.15

Swayne & Holt (August 1926-1928)

''West Cajoot'' departed

on her first journey under a new management company on December 29, 1926. After stopping off in

two days later, she proceeded on her way with a load of general cargo, and almost 2,000,000 feet of timber to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. She arrived at

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on January 27, 1927,Daily Colonist, January 29, 1927, p.17 and from there proceeded to

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

(February 5),

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

(February 15),

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

(February 21),

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

(February 28). From Brisbane ''West Cajoot'' sailed towards the

, visiting Davao, Zamboanga,

, and

. From there she proceeded to

and then took course back to

where she arrived on May 6, 1927 with a load of copra and Philippine hardwood. On her next trip ''West Cajoot'' departed

on June 18, 1927 laden among other things with 200 barrels of asphalt, 25,000 cases of gasoline and 800 barrels of resin.Oakland Tribune, June 17, 1927, p.17 The ship arrived in Melbourne on July 20, Sydney on July 26, 1927 and from there proceeded to Brisbane (arriving on August 2). After stopping off at

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

on August 21 to load 525 tons of copra, the ship proceeded to Hong Kong, Manila and the Philippines. ''West Cajoot'' left Manila on September 23, 1927 with 1,223,583 pounds of coconut oil destined for a soap company in Los Angeles. In the early morning of October 2, 1927, the vessel struck some obstruction in Van Diemen Straits, off the Japanese coast, forcing the ship to alter her course for Kobe, where she arrived on the evening of October 3, 1927. Repairs to the vessel were made on dry dock. ''West Cajoot'' left Kobe early on November 1, 1927, stopping off at Yokohama, and arriving at San Francisco on November 22, 1927. She was dry-docked at that port for further examination, and left for Los Angeles on November 29, arriving at her destination on the morning of December 1.

Oceanic & Oriental Navigation Company (1928-1937)

In October 1927, the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported on the impending sale of ''West Cajoot'' and 18 other Swayne & Holt ships to a San Francisco financier. The ship later became a part of the fleet of the

Oceanic and Oriental Navigation Company The Oceanic and Oriental Navigation Company, sometimes shortened to O & O, was an American shipping company that operated from 1928 to 1938. The company was a joint venture between Matson Navigation Company and the American-Hawaiian Steamship Comp ...

, a joint venture between Oceanic-Matson, a subsidiary of

Matson Navigation Company Matson may refer to: * Matson (surname) * Matson, Gloucester, England, a suburb of Gloucester * Matson, Missouri, an unincorporated community * 2586 Matson, an asteroid * Matson, Inc., a shipping company, formerly Matson Navigation Company * Matson ...

, and the

American-Hawaiian Steamship Company The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company was founded in 1899 to carry cargoes of sugar from Hawaii to the United States and manufactured goods back to Hawaii. Brothers-in-law George Dearborn and Lewis Henry Lapham were the key players in the found ...

, established to take over operation of transpacific routes that had been managed for the USSB by Swayne & Holt Lines. On April 3, 1928 it was reported that 8 ships acquired by Matson were renamed - , , ''West Cajoot'', , , , , and becoming ''Golden State'', ''Golden Fleece'', ''Golden Bear'', ''Golden Harvest'', ''Golden Eagle'', ''Golden Kauri'', ''Golden Coast'', and ''Golden Forrest'', respectively.The Register, April 5, 1928, p.19 ''Golden Bear'' made her first voyage under a new flag from Los Angeles on October 1, 1928, arriving in Auckland on October 27. After stopping at several New Zealand ports, the ship left Lyttelton on November 17 for Honolulu and San Francisco, arriving there on December 21, 1928.Daily Commercial News & Shipping List, November 14, 1928, p.4Daily Commercial News & Shipping List, January 2, 1929, p.7 The ship then proceeded to the Pacific Northwest where it loaded up timber and departed Vancouver on January 14, 1929. After a stop in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles to load more cargo, the ship took course to

where she arrived on February 27, 1929. After stops at several ports in New Zealand, ''Golden Bear'' left

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

for Honolulu (arrived April 12) and San Francisco. From there, the ship again proceeded to the Pacific Northwest to load timber, and departed on another trip, this time to Australia. Leaving

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

on May 9, the ship made stopovers in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, San Francisco and Los Angeles to load general cargo and case oil before heading for

where she arrived on June 20.The Age, June 18, 1929, p.8 After stopping off at

(July 1) and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

(July 4), ''Golden Bear'' proceeded to Honolulu and San Francisco, reaching it on August 15. The vessel continued travelling between Pacific Coast of the US, carrying mostly timber, oil, and general cargo to Australia, and occasionally New Zealand through 1937. She departed for her last trip from Tacoma on February 20, 1937, stopped off to load more cargo at Los Angeles on March 10, 1937 before proceeding to Auckland. On March 30, 1937 it was reported that Oceanic & Oriental Navigation Company (O&ON) would be halting the service to Australia as of April 1.The Sun, March 30, 1937, p.12 At the time the measure was considered temporary due to uncertainty of the renewal of mail rates by the new Maritime Commission. As the new contract was not granted to O&ON, the service was suspended indefinitely due to economic hardship to operate the route without a substantial subsidy from the government.Sydney Morning Herald, March 31, 1937, p.13 After reaching Auckland on April 12, ''Golden Bear'' proceeded to Australia where the ship stopped at several ports before loading 406 tons of coal at

and sailing for

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

on May 14. ''Golden Bear'' was present in Rabaul harbor during the great Rabaul eruption on May 30, 1937 and assisted in evacuation of approximately 750 town inhabitants to

Kokopo Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Kokopo/Vunamami Urban LLG. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population o ...

.News (Adelaide), May 31, 1937, p.1Sydney Morning Herald, May 31, 1937, p.9 The ship returned to Rabaul on June 12 before departing for Solomon Islands, and from there continued on to San Francisco where the ship arrived on July 21. ''Golden Bear'' remained berthed in San Francisco for the remainder of the year. In mid December it was reported that O&ON was dissolved with the fleet being divided between the Line's co-owners. Matson acquired ''Golden Eagle'', ''Golden River'', ''Golden Bear'' and ''Golden State'', while the rest of the ships were acquired by

Operational history under Soviet Union flag

Far Eastern State Sea Shipping Company (6 November 1942 - 19 December 1947)

As per Lend-Lease Agreement the ship ''Kailua'' (ex. ''West Cajoot'') was adopted by the Soviet procurement commission on 6 of November, 1942. The ship was renamed ''Выборг'' (Russian: ''

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

'') and included in the Far Eastern State Sea Shipping Company (it was renamed Far Eastern Shipping Company later). During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the ship was used as one of the paramilitary ships of the Far Eastern Basin, the ship carried out export-import shipments between the Pacific ports of the USSR and its allies. The steamer was lost in

Nagaev Bay Nagaev Bay or Nagayev Bay (), also known as Nagayeva Bay, is a bay within Taui Bay in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, Magadan Oblast, Russia. Geography It is 6.4 km (4 mi) wide at its entrance and 14.5 km (9 mi) long.United States. (19 ...

due explosion of dangerous cargo on December 19, 1947, and excluded from the list of ships of the Ministry on 22 December 1948. Soviet Merchant Marine. Lend Lease Ships
/ref> The Soviet classification of the ships marked all design 1013 ships under Soviet Union flag, ex US West-class ships, as Belorussia-class cargo ships. To see article '' Belorussia-class cargo ships''.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:West Cajoot Design 1013 ships Ships built in Los Angeles 1918 ships Maritime incidents in 1947